The five-year-old granddaughter of recently deceased Dutch golf legend Jan Dorrestein had the honour of hitting the ceremonial opening tee shot at the KLM Open.
Nola was joined by her father and several family members, as well as Tournament Director Daan Slooter, who gave a speech afterwards on the first tee at Bernardus Golf to mark Dorrestein’s importance to Dutch golf.
Dorrestein was the first golfer from his country to play full-time on the DP World Tour, then known as the European Tour, following its inception in 1972.
He passed away at the age of 77 last month.
From a family of golf professionals - father and both brothers – Dorrestein still holds the highest finish by a male Dutch player in a Major Championship, having finished 15th at The Open Championship in 1972.
After a short career on the DP World Tour, during which he played in the World Cup for the Netherlands, he still played many international competitions as a teaching professional and taught in his home country at Rosendaelsche Golfclub in Arnhem.
A two-time winner of the Kenya Open, he went on to play some senior events, including on the Legends Tour and made several appearances at The Senior Open Championship.
The 2023 KLM Open, one of the DP World Tour’s founding events, is the 103rd edition of the Netherlands’ national open.
